Method and apparatus of transmitting and receiving connectionclose message in wireless communication systems

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving ConnectionClose message in a wireless communication system, the method characterized in that generating a ConnectionClose message characterized in that a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field and a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason field indicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicates the absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units of superframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set Management Protocol.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119

The present Application for patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/731,126, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FORPROVIDING MOBILE BROADBAND WIRELESS LOWER MAC”, filed Oct. 27, 2005,assigned to the assignee hereof and expressly incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, andmore particularly to method and apparatus for transmitting and receivingConnectionClose message.

2. Background

Wireless communication systems have become a prevalent means by which amajority of people worldwide have come to communicate. Wirelesscommunication devices have become smaller and more powerful in order tomeet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. Theincrease in processing power in mobile devices such as cellulartelephones has lead to an increase in demands on wireless networktransmission systems. Such systems typically are not as easily updatedas the cellular devices that communicate there over. As mobile devicecapabilities expand, it can be difficult to maintain an older wirelessnetwork system in a manner that facilitates fully exploiting new andimproved wireless device capabilities.

Wireless communication systems generally utilize different approaches togenerate transmission resources in the form of channels. These systemsmay be code division multiplexing (CDM) systems, frequency divisionmultiplexing (FDM) systems, and time division multiplexing (TDM)systems. One commonly utilized variant of FDM is orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) that effectively partitions the overallsystem bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. These subcarriersmay also be referred to as tones, bins, and frequency channels. Eachsubcarrier can be modulated with data. With time division basedtechniques, each subcarrier can comprise a portion of sequential timeslices or time slots. Each user may be provided with a one or more timeslot and subcarrier combinations for transmitting and receivinginformation in a defined burst period or frame. The hopping schemes maygenerally be a symbol rate hopping scheme or a block hopping scheme.

Code division based techniques typically transmit data over a number offrequencies available at any time in a range. In general, data isdigitized and spread over available bandwidth, wherein multiple userscan be overlaid on the channel and respective users can be assigned aunique sequence code. Users can transmit in the same wide-band chunk ofspectrum, wherein each user's signal is spread over the entire bandwidthby its respective unique spreading code. This technique can provide forsharing, wherein one or more users can concurrently transmit andreceive. Such sharing can be achieved through spread spectrum digitalmodulation, wherein a user's stream of bits is encoded and spread acrossa very wide channel in a pseudo-random fashion. The receiver is designedto recognize the associated unique sequence code and undo therandomization in order to collect the bits for a particular user in acoherent manner.

A typical wireless communication network (e.g., employing frequency,time, and/or code division techniques) includes one or more basestations that provide a coverage area and one or more mobile (e.g.,wireless) terminals that can transmit and receive data within thecoverage area. A typical base station can simultaneously transmitmultiple data streams for broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast services,wherein a data stream is a stream of data that can be of independentreception interest to a mobile terminal. A mobile terminal within thecoverage area of that base station can be interested in receiving one,more than one or all the data streams transmitted from the base station.Likewise, a mobile terminal can transmit data to the base station oranother mobile terminal. In these systems the bandwidth and other systemresources are assigned utilizing a scheduler.

The signals signal formats, signal exchanges, methods, processes, andtechniques disclosed herein provide several advantages over knownapproaches. These include, for example, reduced signaling overhead,improved system throughput, increased signaling flexibility, reducedinformation processing, reduced transmission bandwidth, reduced bitprocessing, increased robustness, improved efficiency, and reducedtransmission power.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodimentsin order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments,and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of allembodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in asimplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that ispresented later.

According to one embodiment, a method is provided for transmittingConnectionClose message in a wireless communication system, the methodcomprising generating a ConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bitmessageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field,a SuspendTime field and a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFiag field, whereinthe CloseReason field indicates the CloseReason by the sender, theSuspendTime field indicates the absolute system time of the end of itssuspend period in units of superframes, the RegistrationRadiusFiag fieldindicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the ActiveSet Management Protocol and transmitting the ConnectionClose messageover a communication link.

According to yet another embodiment, an apparatus operable in a wirelesscommunication system is described which includes means for generating aConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a bit SuspendTime fieldand a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol and means for transmitting the ConnectionClose message over acommunication link.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer readable medium isdescribed which comprises a first set of instructions for generating aConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field anda 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol and a second set of instructions for transmitting theConnectionClose message over a communication link.

According to yet another embodiment, a method is provided for receivinginformation in a wireless communication system, the method comprisingreceiving a ConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field,a 3 bit CloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a bitSuspendTime field and a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein theCloseReason field indicates the CloseReason by the sender, theSuspendTime field indicates the absolute system time of the end of itssuspend period in units of superframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag fieldindicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the ActiveSet Management Protocol and processing the received ConnectionClosemessage.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer readable medium isdescribed which comprises a first set of instructions for receiving theConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field anda 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFiag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol and a second set of instructions for processing the receivedConnectionClose message

According to yet another embodiment an apparatus operable in a wirelesscommunication system is described which includes means for receivingConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field anda 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFiag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol and means for processing the received ConnectionClose message.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreembodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the one or more embodiments. These embodiments areindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of various embodiments may be employed and the describedembodiments are intended to include all such embodiments and theirequivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates embodiments of a multiple access wirelesscommunication system;

FIG. 2 illustrates embodiments of a transmitter and receiver in amultiple access wireless communication system;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate embodiments of superframe structures for amultiple access wireless communication system;

FIG. 4 illustrates embodiment of a communication between an accessterminal and an access point;

FIG. 5A illustrates a flow diagram of a process used by access point;

FIG. 5B illustrates one or more processors for transmittingConnectionClose message;

FIG. 6A illustrates a flow diagram of a process used by access terminal;and

FIG. 6B illustrates one or more processors for receiving ConnectionClosemessage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident; however,that such embodiment(s) may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, a multiple access wireless communication systemaccording to one embodiment is illustrated. A multiple access wirelesscommunication system 100 includes multiple cells, e.g. cells 102, 104,and 106. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, each cell 102, 104, and 106 mayinclude an access point 150 that includes multiple sectors. The multiplesectors are formed by groups of antennas each responsible forcommunication with access terminals in a portion of the cell. In cell102, antenna groups 112, 114, and 116 each correspond to a differentsector. In cell 104, antenna groups 118, 120, and 122 each correspond toa different sector. In cell 106, antenna groups 124, 126, and 128 eachcorrespond to a different sector.

Each cell includes several access terminals which are in communicationwith one or more sectors of each access point. For example, accessterminals 130 and 132 are in communication base 142, access terminals134 and 136 are in communication with access point 144, and accessterminals 138 and 140 are in communication with access point 146.

Controller 130 is coupled to each of the cells 102, 104, and 106.Controller 130 may contain one or more connections to multiple networks,e.g. the Internet, other packet based networks, or circuit switchedvoice networks that provide information to, and from, the accessterminals in communication with the cells of the multiple accesswireless communication system 100. The controller 130 includes, or iscoupled with, a scheduler that schedules transmission from and to accessterminals. In other embodiments, the scheduler may reside in eachindividual cell, each sector of a cell, or a combination thereof.

As used herein, an access point may be a fixed station used forcommunicating with the terminals and may also be referred to as, andinclude some or all the functionality of, a base station, a Node B, orsome other terminology. An access terminal may also be referred to as,and include some or all the functionality of, a user equipment (UE), awireless communication device, terminal, a mobile station or some otherterminology.

It should be noted that while FIG. 1, depicts physical sectors, i.e.having different antenna groups for different sectors, other approachesmay be utilized. For example, utilizing multiple fixed “beams” that eachcover different areas of the cell in frequency space may be utilized inlieu of, or in combination with physical sectors. Such an approach isdepicted and disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/260,895, entitled “Adaptive Sectorization In Cellular System.”

Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an embodiment of a transmittersystem 210 and a receiver system 250 in a MIMO system 200 isillustrated. At transmitter system 210, traffic data for a number ofdata streams is provided from a data source 212 to transmit (TX) dataprocessor 214. In an embodiment, each data stream is transmitted over arespective transmit antenna. TX data processor 214 formats, codes, andinterleaves the traffic data for each data stream based on a particularcoding scheme selected for that data stream to provide coded data.

The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot datausing OFDM, or other orthogonalization or non-orthogonalizationtechniques. The pilot data is typically a known data pattern that isprocessed in a known manner and may be used at the receiver system toestimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data foreach data stream is then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) based on one ormore particular modulation schemes (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM)selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols. The datarate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined byinstructions performed on provided by processor 230.

The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TXprocessor 220, which may further process the modulation symbols (e.g.,for OFDM). TX processor 220 then provides N_(T) modulation symbolstreams to N_(T) transmitters (TMTR) 222 a through 222 t. Eachtransmitter 222 receives and processes a respective symbol stream toprovide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g.,amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide amodulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. N_(T)modulated signals from transmitters 222 a through 222 t are thentransmitted from N_(T) antennas 224 a through 224 t, respectively.

At receiver system 250, the transmitted modulated signals are receivedby N_(R) antennas 252 a through 252 r and the received signal from eachantenna 252 is provided to a respective receiver (RCVR) 254. Eachreceiver 254 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and downconverts) arespective received signal, digitizes the conditioned signal to providesamples, and further processes the samples to provide a corresponding“received” symbol stream.

An RX data processor 260 then receives and processes the N_(R) receivedsymbol streams from N_(R) receivers 254 based on a particular receiverprocessing technique to provide N_(T) “detected” symbol streams. Theprocessing by RX data processor 260 is described in further detailbelow. Each detected symbol stream includes symbols that are estimatesof the modulation symbols transmitted for the corresponding data stream.RX data processor 260 then demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes eachdetected symbol stream to recover the traffic data for the data stream.The processing by RX data processor 218 is complementary to thatperformed by TX processor 220 and TX data processor 214 at transmittersystem 210.

RX data processor 260 may be limited in the number of subcarriers thatit may simultaneously demodulate, e.g. 512 subcarriers or 5 MHz, andsuch a receiver should be scheduled on a single carrier. This limitationmay be a function of its FFT range, e.g. sample rates at which theprocessor 260 may operate, the memory available for FFT, or otherfunctions available for demodulation. Further, the greater the number ofsubcarriers utilized, the greater the expense of the access terminal.

The channel response estimate generated by RX processor 260 may be usedto perform space, space/time processing at the receiver, adjust powerlevels, change modulation rates or schemes, or other actions. RXprocessor 260 may further estimate the signal-to-noise-and-interferenceratios (SNRs) of the detected symbol streams, and possibly other channelcharacteristics, and provides these quantities to a processor 270. RXdata processor 260 or processor 270 may further derive an estimate ofthe “operating” SNR for the system. Processor 270 then provides channelstate information (CSI), which may comprise various types of informationregarding the communication link and/or the received data stream. Forexample, the CSI may comprise only the operating SNR. In otherembodiments, the CSI may comprise a channel quality indicator (CQI),which may be a numerical value indicative of one or more channelconditions. The CSI is then processed by a TX data processor 278,modulated by a modulator 280, conditioned by transmitters 254 a through254 r, and transmitted back to transmitter system 210.

At transmitter system 210, the modulated signals from receiver system250 are received by antennas 224, conditioned by receivers 222,demodulated by a demodulator 240, and processed by a RX data processor242 to recover the CSI reported by the receiver system. The reported CSIis then provided to processor 230 and used to (1) determine the datarates and coding and modulation schemes to be used for the data streamsand (2) generate various controls for TX data processor 214 and TXprocessor 220. Alternatively, the CSI may be utilized by processor 270to determine modulation schemes and/or coding rates for transmission,along with other information. This may then be provided to thetransmitter which uses this information, which may be quantized, toprovide later transmissions to the receiver.

Processors 230 and 270 direct the operation at the transmitter andreceiver systems, respectively. Memories 232 and 272 provide storage forprogram codes and data used by processors 230 and 270, respectively.

At the receiver, various processing techniques may be used to processthe N_(R) received signals to detect the N_(T) transmitted symbolstreams. These receiver processing techniques may be grouped into twoprimary categories (i) spatial and space-time receiver processingtechniques (which are also referred to as equalization techniques); and(ii) “successive nulling/equalization and interference cancellation”receiver processing technique (which is also referred to as “successiveinterference cancellation” or “successive cancellation” receiverprocessing technique).

While FIG. 2 discusses a MIMO system, the same system may be applied toa multi-input single-output system where multiple transmit antennas,e.g. those on a base station, transmit one or more symbol streams to asingle antenna device, e.g. a mobile station. Also, a single output tosingle input antenna system may be utilized in the same manner asdescribed with respect to FIG. 2.

The transmission techniques described herein may be implemented byvarious means. For example, these techniques may be implemented inhardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardwareimplementation, the processing units at a transmitter may be implementedwithin one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices(DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. Theprocessing units at a receiver may also be implemented within one ormore ASICs, DSPs, processors, and so on.

For a software implementation, the transmission techniques may beimplemented with processors (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on)that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may bestored in a memory (e.g., memory 230, 272 x or 272 y in FIG. 2) andexecuted by a processor (e.g., processor 232, 270 x or 270 y). Thememory may be implemented within the processor or external to theprocessor.

It should be noted that the concept of channels herein refers toinformation or transmission types that may be transmitted by the accesspoint or access terminal. It does not require or utilize fixed orpredetermined blocks of subcarriers, time periods, or other resourcesdedicated to such transmissions.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, embodiments of superframe structures for amultiple access wireless communication system are illustrated. FIG. 3Aillustrates embodiments of superframe structures for a frequencydivision duplexed (FDD) multiple access wireless communication system,while FIG. 3B illustrates embodiments of superframe structures for atime division duplexed (TDD) multiple access wireless communicationsystem. The superframe preamble may be transmitted separately for eachcarrier or may span all of the carriers of the sector.

In both FIGS. 3A and 3B, the forward link transmission is divided intounits of superframes. A superframe may consist of a superframe preamblefollowed by a series of frames. In an FDD system, the reverse link andthe forward link transmission may occupy different frequency bandwidthsso that transmissions on the links do not, or for the most part do not,overlap on any frequency subcarriers. In a TDD system, N forward linkframes and M reverse link frames define the number of sequential forwardlink and reverse link frames that may be continuously transmitted priorto allowing transmission of the opposite type of frame. It should benoted that the number of N and M may be vary within a given superframeor between superframes.

In both FDD and TDD systems each superframe may comprise a superframepreamble. In certain embodiments, the superframe preamble includes apilot channel that includes pilots that may be used for channelestimation by access terminals, a broadcast channel that includesconfiguration information that the access terminal may utilize todemodulate the information contained in the forward link frame. Furtheracquisition information such as timing and other information sufficientfor an access terminal to communicate on one of the carriers and basicpower control or offset information may also be included in thesuperframe preamble. In other cases, only some of the above and/or otherinformation may be included in this superframe preamble.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the superframe preamble is followed by asequence of frames. Each frame may consist of a same or a differentnumber of OFDM symbols, which may constitute a number of subcarriersthat may simultaneously utilized for transmission over some definedperiod. Further, each frame may operate according to a symbol ratehopping mode, where one or more non-contiguous OFDM symbols are assignedto a user on a forward link or reverse link, or a block hopping mode,where users hop within a block of OFDM symbols. The actual blocks orOFDM symbols may or may not hop between frames.

FIG. 4 illustrates communication between an access terminal (for examplethe transmitter system 250 of FIG. 2) 402 and an access point (forexample the transmitter system 210 of FIG. 2) 404 according to anembodiment. Using a communication link 406 and based upon predeterminedtiming, system conditions, or other decision criteria, the access point404 will transmit ConnectionClose message 410 to the access terminal402. The communication link 406 may be implemented using communicationprotocols/standards such as World Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), infrared protocols such as Infrared Data Association (IrDA),short-range wireless protocols/technologies, Bluetooth® technology,ZigBee® protocol, ultra wide band (UWB) protocol, home radio frequency(HomeRF), shared wireless access protocol (SWAP), wideband technologysuch as a wireless Ethernet compatibility alliance (WECA), wirelessfidelity alliance (Wi-Fi Alliance), 802.11 network technology, publicswitched telephone network technology, public heterogeneouscommunications network technology such as the Internet, private wirelesscommunications network, land mobile radio network, code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), advanced mobile phoneservice (AMPS), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple (OFDM),orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), orthogonalfrequency division multiple FLASH (OFDM-FLASH), global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), single carrier (1X) radio transmission technology(RTT), evolution data only (EV-DO) technology, general packet radioservice (GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), high speeddownlink data packet access (HSPDA), analog and digital satellitesystems, and any other technologies/protocols that may be used in atleast one of a wireless communications network and a data communicationsnetwork.

The access point 404 is configured to transmit the ConnectionClosemessage 410 and access terminal 402 is configured to receive theConnectionClose message 410 from the access point 404 using thecommunication link 406. The ConnectionClose message 410 comprises a 8bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein the CloseReasonfield indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bit SuspendEnablefield, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes and is of length 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFiagfield, wherein the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol. In an embodiment, the ConnectionClose message 410 may beincorporated in a data packet 412. In another embodiment, theConnectionClose message 410 may not be incorporated in a data packet.

The access point 404 generates the ConnectionClose message comprising a8 bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein theCloseReason field indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bitSuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime fieldindicates the absolute system time of the end of its suspend period inunits of superframes and is of length 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bitRegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the RegistrationRadiusFlag fieldindicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the ActiveSet Management Protocol. The access point 404 may incorporate theConnectionClose message 410 into a data packet 412 or multiple datapackets and the data packets 412 are transmitted on a communication link406. In another embodiment, the ConnectionClose message 410 may betransmitted without being incorporated in packets. The data packetscomprise header information that indicates whether those data packets412 contain the ConnectionClose message 410. The data packets 412 aretransmitted on the link 406 using one or more channels.

The access terminal 402 is configured to receive data packets on thecommunication link 406, one of which may comprise the ConnectionClosemessage 410. Various methods may be used to extract the ConnectionClosemessage 410 from the communication link. For example, once the accessterminal 402 has extracted the data packet 412 from one of the channelsof the link, the access terminal 402 may check the header information ofthe data packet 412 to determine if the data packet 412 comprises theConnectionClose message 410. If so, then the access terminal 402extracts the designated ConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8 bitmessageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein the CloseReasonfield indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bit SuspendEnablefield, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes and is of 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field,wherein RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol and stores the values in memory (such as memory 272 in FIG. 2).

The access terminal 402 will set the SuspendEnable field to ‘1’ if itwill enable a suspend period following the close of the connection andthe access point 404 will set this field to ‘0’ if the CloseReason fieldis set to “Deregistration Request’ and will set this field to ‘0’. Ifthe SuspendEnable field is set to ‘1’, the SuspendTime field will beincluded and the access terminal will set this field to the absolutetime of the end of its suspend period in units of superframes. TheRegistrationRadiusFlag field will be set by the access terminal toRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol.

FIG. 5A illustrates a flow diagram of the process 500, according to anembodiment. The access point (such as access point 404 in FIG. 4)transmits information to one or more access terminals (such as accessterminal 402 in FIG. 4). At 502, the ConnectionClose message 410 isgenerated comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field,a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field, a 4 bitRegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason field indicatesthe CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes and is of 0 or 34 bit, the RegistrationRadiusFlag fieldindicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the ActiveSet Management Protocol. At 504, the generated ConnectionClose messageis transmitted over a communication link.

FIG. 5B illustrates a processor 550 for transmitting ConnectionClosemessage. The processor referred to may be electronic devices and maycomprise one or more processors configured for transmitting theConnectionClose message according to the embodiment. Processor 552 isconfigured to generate a ConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8 bitmessageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein the CloseReasonfield indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bit SuspendEnablefield, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes and is 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field,wherein the RegistrationRadiusFiag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol. Processor 554 is configured to transmit the generatedConnectionClose message over a communication link. The functionality ofthe discrete processors 552 to 554 depicted in the figure may becombined into a single processor 556. A memory 558 may also be coupledto the processor 556.

In another embodiment, an apparatus is described which includes meansfor generating ConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8 bit messageIDfield, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, aSuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime field indicates the absolutesystem time of the end of its suspend period in units of superframes andis 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein theRegistrationRadiusFiag field indicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag whichis public data of the Active Set Management Protocol. The apparatusfurther includes means for transmitting the ConnectionClose message. Themeans described herein may be one or more processors.

FIG. 6A illustrates a flow diagram of process 600, according to anembodiment. At 602, the ConnectionClose message 410 is receivedcomprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, whereinthe CloseReason field indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bitSuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime fieldindicates the absolute system time of the end of its suspend period inunits of superframes and is of 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bitRegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the RegistrationRadiusFlag fieldindicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the ActiveSet Management Protocol. At 604, the received ConnectionClose message410 is processed.

FIG. 6B illustrates a processor 650 for receiving ConnectionClosemessage. The processor referred to may be electronic devices and maycomprise one or more processors configured for receiving theConnectionClose message according to the embodiment. Processor 652 isconfigured for receiving a ConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein the CloseReasonfield indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bit SuspendEnablefield, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes and is 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field,wherein the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol. Processor 654 is configured for processing the receivedConnectionClose message 410. The functionality of the discreteprocessors 652 to 654 depicted in the figure may be combined into asingle processor 656. A memory 658 may also be coupled to the processor656.

In yet another embodiment, an apparatus is described which includesmeans for receiving a ConnectionClose message 410 comprising a 8 bitmessageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, wherein the CloseReasonfield indicates the CloseReason by the sender, a 1 bit SuspendEnablefield, a SuspendTime field, wherein the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes and is 0 or 34 bit, a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field,wherein the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol. The apparatus further comprising means for processing thereceived ConnectionClose message 410. The means described herein may beone or more processors.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in amachine readable medium such as a separate storage(s) not shown. Aprocessor may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment may representa procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, asubroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination ofinstructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment maybe coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passingand/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments. Thus, the description is not intendedto be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded thewidest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosedherein.

1. A method for transmitting ConnectionClose message in a wirelesscommunication system, the method characterized in that: generating aConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field anda 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol; and transmitting the ConnectionClose message over acommunication link.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, furthercharacterized in that generating the ConnectionClose message wherein thelength of the SuspendTime field is 0 or 34 bit.
 3. The method as claimedin claim 1, further characterized in that setting the value ofCloseReason field as ‘000’ to indicate Normal Close, as ‘001’ toindicate Close Reply, as ‘010’ to indicate Connection Error, as ‘011’ toindicate deregistration request, as ‘100’ to indicate normal close byaccess terminal because the connection was opened for registration. 4.The method as claimed in claim 1, further characterized in that settingthe value of SuspendEnable field to ‘1’ to indicate that the suspendperiod is enabled following the close of the connection and theSuspendTime field is included.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1,further characterized in that setting the value of SuspendEnable fieldto ‘0’ if the CloseReason field is set to ‘deregistration request’.
 6. Acomputer readable medium including instructions stored thereoncharacterized in that: a first set of instructions for generating aConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field anda 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol; and a second set of instructions for transmitting theConnectionClose message over a communication link.
 7. An apparatusoperable in a wireless communication system, the apparatus characterizedin that: means for generating a ConnectionClose message comprising a 8bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnablefield, a SuspendTime field and a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field,wherein the CloseReason field indicates the CloseReason by the sender,the SuspendTime field indicates the absolute system time of the end ofits suspend period in units of superframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlagfield indicates the RegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of theActive Set Management Protocol; and means for transmitting theConnectionClose message over a communication link.
 8. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 7, further characterized in that means for generatingthe ConnectionClose message wherein the length of the SuspendTime fieldis of 0 or 34 bit.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, furthercharacterized in that means for setting the value of CloseReason fieldas ‘000’ to indicate Normal Close, as ‘001’ to indicate Close Reply, as‘010’ to indicate Connection Error, as ‘011’ to indicate deregistrationrequest, as ‘100’ to indicate normal close by access terminal becausethe connection was opened for registration.
 10. The apparatus as claimedin claim 7, further characterized in that means for setting the value ofSuspendEnable field to ‘1’ to indicate that the suspend period isenabled following the close of the connection and the SuspendTime fieldis included.
 11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, furthercharacterized in that means for setting the value of SuspendEnable fieldto ‘0’ if the CloseReason field is set to ‘deregistration request’. 12.A method of providing information in a wireless communication system,the method characterized in that: receiving a ConnectionClose messagecomprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bit CloseReason field, a 1 bitSuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field and a 4 bitRegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReason field indicatesthe CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicates theabsolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol; and processing the received ConnectionClose message.
 13. Themethod as claimed in claim 12, further characterized in that receivingthe ConnectionClose message wherein the length of the SuspendTime fieldis of 0 or 34 bit.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 12, furthercharacterized in that interpreting the value of CloseReason field as‘000’ to indicate Normal Close, as ‘001’ to indicate Close Reply, as‘010’ to indicate Connection Error, as ‘011’ to indicate deregistrationrequest, as ‘100’ to indicate normal close by access terminal becausethe connection was opened for registration.
 15. The method as claimed inclaim 12, further characterized in that interpreting the value ofSuspendEnable field as ‘1’ to indicate that the suspend period isenabled following the close of the connection and the SuspendTime fieldis included.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 12, furthercharacterized in that interpreting the value of SuspendEnable field as‘0’ if the CloseReason field is set to ‘deregistration request’.
 17. Acomputer readable medium including instructions stored thereoncharacterized in that: a first set of instructions for receiving aConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field, a 3 bitCloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTime field anda 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field wherein the CloseReason fieldindicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime field indicatesthe absolute system time of the end of its suspend period in units ofsuperframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol; and a second set of instructions for processing the receivedConnectionClose message.
 18. An apparatus operable in a wirelesscommunication system, the apparatus characterized in that: means forreceiving a ConnectionClose message comprising a 8 bit messageID field,a 3 bit CloseReason field, a 1 bit SuspendEnable field, a SuspendTimefield and a 4 bit RegistrationRadiusFlag field, wherein the CloseReasonfield indicates the CloseReason by the sender, the SuspendTime fieldindicates the absolute system time of the end of its suspend period inunits of superframes, the RegistrationRadiusFlag field indicates theRegistrationRadiusFlag which is public data of the Active Set ManagementProtocol; and means for processing the received ConnectionClose message.19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 18 further characterized in thatmeans for receiving the ConnectionClose message wherein the length ofthe SuspendTime field is of 0 or 34 bit.
 20. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 18, further characterized in that means for interpreting the valueof CloseReason field as ‘000’ to indicate Normal Close, as ‘001’ toindicate Close Reply, as ‘010’ to indicate Connection Error, as ‘011’ toindicate deregistration request, as ‘100’ to indicate normal close byaccess terminal because the connection was opened for registration. 21.The apparatus as claimed in claim 18, further characterized in thatmeans for interpreting the value of SuspendEnable field as ‘1’ toindicate that the suspend period is enabled following the close of theconnection and the SuspendTime field is included.
 22. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 18, further characterized in that means forinterpreting the value of SuspendEnable field as ‘0’ if the CloseReasonfield is set to ‘deregistration request’.